Featuring Reviews of Triangle Area Restaurants, and Food and Drink Recommendations!

Tower Indian Restaurant in Morrisville

Tower Indian is located in Morrisville Square off of Morrisville-Carpenter Road. I don’t think the place could get any drive-by customers because it’s not visible from the road, and it’s not a terribly well-visited strip mall. Yet somehow the restaurant is always busy for lunch, and I think it’s because the food is just above and beyond most of the other Indian restaurants in the area.

The restaurant is completely vegetarian, so those looking for chicken or lamb dishes will be disappointed. But I think the fact that it is vegetarian gives it a higher level of authenticity over other Indian places. The lunch buffet has always been well-stocked with a huge variety of different dishes.

When you first enter the restaurant, you’ll probably wonder what kind of cheap, crappy restaurant you just walked into with its white, undecorated walls and its white paper tablecloths. A waiter may or may not seat you. Just try to get a table away from the door in the winter time. I don’t think I’ve ever been offered a menu, and I don’t know if ordering off the menu is possible. I’ve always just walked up to the buffet and started filling my plate. Drinks such as mango lassi are available, but good luck trying to get a waiter to take your order.

So the restaurant looks like crap, there’s no service to speak of. So why do I love it so much? The food ROCKS! I’ll fill up my plate twice, as much food as I can carry, all different kinds of veggies and sauces and spices. Each spoonful is like a double rainbow of flavor in my mouth. I can’t identify what half the food is, but I’ve never been disappointed by anything I’ve tried. One dish looked like the stuffing for stuffed peppers, and when I tried it, it tasted like candied shredded carrots. I love happy surprises.

None of the buffet items are very spicy. You’d think they could put at least one entree on the buffet that was super spicy and label it as such, but I guess they want to cater to the lowest common denominator. I do see a lot of Indian families bringing their children here, and perhaps it’s for the kids that they keep the spiciness level down. Regardless, what the food lacks in spice, it makes up for in unique and diverse flavor. I would certainly not call any entree they serve “bland”.

They also bring out some stuffed dosai, but if you’re as enthusiastic about the buffet as I am, you’ll probably be done eating before you get your dosai. Save some room though, it’s delicious too! Perfectly crispy and warm.

There was one major disappointment when I went on Monday. They didn’t have any of the warm Gulab jamun (donut holes) for dessert. I hope that isn’t a new thing. Next time I go they better have the donut holes back on the buffet.

When you’re done eating, don’t bother waiting for a check. Just go up to the register and pay. It’s one of the cheapest lunch buffets in the triangle at only $8.